NARRATIVE AND NUMBERS: LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS!

When in trouble, go back to basics!

The Lead In

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The Bermuda Triangle of Valuation

Valuation First Principles &Good SenseBi

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Pre

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Uncertainty & the Unknown

Complexity & Detail

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Valuation Uncertainty

What are the cashflows from existing assets?- Equity: Cashflows after debt payments- Firm: Cashflows before debt payments

What is the value added by growth assets?Equity: Growth in equity earnings/ cashflowsFirm: Growth in operating earnings/ cashflows

How risky are the cash flows from both existing assets and growth assets?Equity: Risk in equity in the companyFirm: Risk in the firm’s operations

When will the firm become a mature fiirm, and what are the potential roadblocks?

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The sources of uncertainty

¨ Estimation versus Economic uncertainty¤ Estimation uncertainty reflects the possibility that you could have the “wrong

model” or estimated inputs incorrectly within this model.¤ Economic uncertainty comes the fact that markets and economies can change over

time and that even the best medals will fail to capture these unexpected changes.¨ Micro uncertainty versus Macro uncertainty

¤ Micro uncertainty refers to uncertainty about the potential market for a firm’s products, the competition it will face and the quality of its management team.

¤ Macro uncertainty reflects the reality that your firm’s fortunes can be affected by changes in the macro economic environment.

¨ Discrete versus continuous uncertainty¤ Discrete risk: Risks that lie dormant for periods but show up at points in time.

(Examples: A drug working its way through the FDA pipeline may fail at some stage of the approval process or a company in Venezuela may be nationalized)

¤ Continuous risk: Risks changes in interest rates or economic growth occur continuously and affect value as they happen.

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A Life Cycle View

Narrative and Numbers: Mechanics

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Healthy Valuation

The Numbers People

Favored Tools- Accounting statements

- Excel spreadsheets- Statistical Measures

- Pricing Data

Illusions/Delusions1. Precision: Data is precise

2. Objectivity: Data has no bias3. Control: Data can control reality

The Narrative People

Favored Tools- Anecdotes

- Experience (own or others)- Behavioral evidence

Illusions/Delusions1. Creativity cannot be quantified

2. If the story is good, the investment will be.3. Experience is the best teacher

A Good Valuation

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The steps in valuation

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Step 1: Survey the landscape

¨ Every valuation starts with a narrative, a story thatyou see unfolding for your company in the future.

¨ In developing this narrative, you will be makingassessments of¤ Your company (its products, its management and its

history.¤ The market or markets that you see it growing in.¤ The competition it faces and will face.¤ The macro environment in which it operates.

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Step 2: Create a narrative for the future

¨ Every valuation starts with a narrative, a story that you see unfolding for your company in the future.

¨ In developing this narrative, you will be making assessments of your company (its products, its management), the market or markets that you see it growing in, the competition it faces and will face and the macro environment in which it operates.¤ Rule 1: Keep it simple.¤ Rule 2: Keep it focused.

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The Uber Narrative

In June 2014, my initial narrative for Uber was that it would be1. An urban car service business: I saw Uber primarily as a

force in urban areas and only in the car service business.2. Which would expand the business moderately (about 40%

over ten years) by bringing in new users.3. With local networking benefits: If Uber becomes large

enough in any city, it will quickly become larger, but that will be of little help when it enters a new city.

4. Maintain its revenue sharing (20%) system due to strong competitive advantages (from being a first mover).

5. And its existing low-capital business model, with drivers as contractors and very little investment in infrastructure.

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Step 3: Check the narrative against history, economic first principles & common sense

Aswath Damodaran14

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The Impossible, The Implausible and the Improbable

Aswath Damodaran15

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Uber: Possible, Plausible and Probable

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Step 4: Connect your narrative to key drivers of value

Total Market

X

Market Share

=

Revenues (Sales)

-

Operating Expenses

=

Operating Income

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Taxes

=

After-tax Operating Income

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Uber is an urban car service company, competing against taxis & limos in urban areas,

but it may expand demand for car service.The global taxi/limo business is $100 billion in

2013, growing at 6% a year.

Reinvestment

=

After-tax Cash Flow

Uber will have competitive advantages against traditional car companies & against newcomers in this business, but no global networking benefits.

Target market share is 10%

Uber will maintain its current model of keeping 20% of car service payments, even in the face of

competition, because of its first mover advantages. It will maintain its current low-infrastructure cost model,

allowing it to earn high margins.Target pre-tax operating margin is 40%.

Uber has a low capital intensity model, since it does not own cars or other infrastructure,

allowing it to maintain a high sales to capital ratio for the sector (5.00)

The company is young and still trying to establish a business model, leading to a high cost of

capital (12%) up front. As it grows, it will become safer and its cost of capital will drop to 8%.

Adjusted for operating risk with a discount rate and

for failure with a probability of failure.

VALUE OF OPERATING

ASSETS

Adjust for time value & risk

The Uber narrative (June 2014)

Cash Uber has cash & capital, but there is a chance of failure.10% probability of failure.

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Step 4: Value the company (Uber)

Aswath Damodaran18

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Step 5: Keep the feedback loop open

¨ When you tell a story about a company (either explicitly or implicitly), it is natural to feel attached to that story and to defend it against all attacks. Nothing can destroy an investor more than hubris.

¨ Being open to other views about a company is not easy, but here are some suggestions that may help:¤ Face up to the uncertainty in your own estimates of value.¤ Present the valuation to people who don’t think like you do.¤ Create a process where people who disagree with you the most

have a say.¤ Provide a structure where the criticisms can be specific and

pointed, rather than general.

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The Uber Feedback Loop: Bill Gurley

1. Not just car service company.: Uber is a car company, not just a car service company, and there may be a day when consumers will subscribe to a Uber service, rather than own their own cars. It could also expand into logistics, i.e., moving and transportation businesses.

2. Not just urban: Uber can create new demands for car service in parts of the country where taxis are not used (suburbia, small towns).

3. Global networking benefits: By linking with technology and credit card companies, Uber can have global networking benefits.

Aswath Damodaran20

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Valuing Bill Gurley’s Uber narrative

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Different narratives, Different Numbers

Let’s try this on Uber in early 2020

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The Drivers of Value

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The drivers of value

¨ The Growth Lever: The revenue growth rate controls how much and how quickly the firm will be able to grow its revenues from autos, software, solar panels and anything else that you believe the company. In my Tesla story (valuation), I have estimated revenues of $125 billion in 2030, a five-fold increase over the 2019 revenues.

¨ The Profitability Lever: The target (pre-tax) operating margin determines how profitable you think the company will be, once its growth days start to scale down. In keeping with my view that R&D is really a capital expense, I capitalize R&D, which improves Tesla’s profitability and target an operating margin of 12% by 2025.

¨ The Investment Efficiency Lever: To grow, companies have to invest in capacity and the sales to invested capital drives how efficiently investment is done, with higher sales to capital ratios reflecting more efficiency. With Tesla, I assume that every dollar of investment (in new factories, technology and new R&D) in the first 5 years generates $3 in revenue.

¨ The Risk lever: The first is the cost of capital that I start the valuation with, a reflection of risk as seen through the eyes of a diversified investor in the company. The second is the likelihood of failure (or distress). With Tesla, I set this cost of capital at 7% and assume that given its marginal profitability and significant debt load, the chance of failure is 10%.

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The Growth Lever

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The Biggest Auto Companies

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A tech company twist?

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Your growth choice

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The Profitability Lever

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A tech twist?

¨ The median operating margin for tech companies (including both software & hardware is 10.25%).

¨ The picture is brighter for the FAANG stocks, where the aggregate operating margin across all five stocks is 19.87%, well above auto industry averages. That margin, though, is delivered on smaller revenues and with business models where production costs are a small fraction of selling prices.

¨ The operating margin for just software companies is even higher at 21.24%, because the marginal unit of software is close to costless to produce.

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Your choice on profitability

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3. The Investment Efficiency Lever

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More on investment efficiency

¨ Looking across global auto companies, the median company generates $1.37 in sales for every dollar of capital invested, and at the 75th percentile, the more capital-efficient auto companies generate $2.42 in revenues for every dollar of capital invested.

¨ My estimate of $3 in revenues for every dollar of capital invested reflects an optimistic view of Tesla’s capacity to bring technological innovation to its production processes, and reduce the capital needed to fund those processes.

¨ Since Tesla, in 2019, generates $1.32 in revenue for every dollar of capital invested, my estimate is more aspirational than based on observable efficiencies, right now.

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Your choice on investment efficiency

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4. Risk: The Cost of Capital - Global

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Your choice on cost of capital & the failure rate

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Valuation Stories

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The Stories

¨ The Big Auto Story: If your story is that Tesla will emerge from its growth period as one of the largest auto companies in the world (revenues of $100- $300 billion in year 10), with top-tier auto company margins (7.42%), investment efficiency (2.42) and cost of capital (6.94%), the value per share ranges from $106/share (with BMW like revenues) to $227/share (with Daimler-like revenues) to $333/share (with VW/Toyota like revenues).

¨ The Techy Auto Company Story: Tesla is an auto/software/services company with tech company characteristics, giving it higher margins (10.25%) and a higher cost of capital (8.86%). With this story, the value per share ranges from $111/share (with BMW like revenues) to $212/share (with Daimler-like revenues) to $298/share (with VW/Toyota like revenues). Put simply, the higher risk nullifies the benefits of higher profitability.

¨ The FAANGy Auto Company: Tesla not only develops a tech twist, but becomes as successful as the most successful tech companies (I use the FAANG stocks + Microsoft). In this story, the margins approach 18.97% and with a tech cost of capital, the value per share ranges from $459/share (with BMW like revenues) to $855/share (with Daimler-like revenues) to $2,106/share (with VW/Toyota like revenues).

¨ The Make-your-best Company: I give Tesla the best possible outcomes on each variable, revenues like VW/Toyota, margins like pure software companies (21.24%), a sales to capital ratio that is higher than any of the sector averages (4.00) and a cost of capital of an auto company (6.94%), and arrive at a value per share of $2106.

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Possible? Plausible? Probable?

¨ With the big auto stories, the key question will be whether Tesla can climb to the very top of the heap in terms of revenues, generally reserved for mass market companies, while earning operating margins that are usually reserved for smaller luxury auto companies?

¨ With the techy auto stories, the key question becomes whether a company that derives the bulk of its revenues from selling cars be profitable and reinvest like a tech company?

¨ With the FAANGy stories, the investment question becomes whether you should up front for a company on the expectation that it will be an exceptional company. It very well might make it to the top of the heap, but if it does not, you are set up for disappointment.

¨ With the MYB story, you are approaching the most dangerous place in valuation, where you pick and choose each assumption, without considering the ones you have already made. Put simply, is it even possible to build a company that generates revenues like Toyota, earns margins like Microsoft and invests more efficiently than any manufacturing company in history has ever done, while still preserving the low cost of capital of an auto company?

The COVID Effect

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When a crisis hits, the dark side beckons…

¨ During a crisis, you will be told that you can no longer value companies with fundamentals, and that you have to play the trading game.¤ If your concept of valuation is downloading last year's financials

for a company into a spread sheet and then using historical growth rates, with some mean reversion thrown in, to forecast future numbers, they are right.

¤ If your notion of valuation is more dynamic and forward-looking, it is precisely at times like these that you need to go back to basics.

¨ More importantly, your story for the company matters more than ever before, since the numbers can no longer be used as a crutch.

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The COVID Crisis: US Equities, from February 14 to November 1, 2020

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Global Equities: By Region (in US $)

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Global Equities: By Sector

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Value Transfers

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How crises affect stories…

¨ Stories can expand: For some companies, a crisis can expand stories¤ By allowing them to reach new customers and devise new business

models that have staying power (Zoom, Peloton)¤ By being in the right place at the right time (Moderna)¤ By handicapping or damaging the competition (Tesla, Airbnb)

¨ Stories can contract: For other companies, a crisis can shrink stories¤ By making their markets smaller (cruise lines definitely, airlines

maybe)..¤ By being in the wrong place at the wrong time (commodity companies)

¨ And the risk of failure becomes real and ignorable: And for all companies, a crisis can increase the likelihood of failure (story break).

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How crises affect stories…

¨ Stories can expand: For some companies, a crisis can expand stories¤ By allowing them to reach new customers and devise new business

models that have staying power (Zoom, Peloton)¤ By being in the right place at the right time (¤ By handicapping or damaging the competition (Tesla, Airbnb)

¨ Stories can contract: For other companies, a crisis can shrink stories¤ By making their markets smaller (cruise lines definitely, airlines

maybe)..¤ By being in the wrong place at the wrong time (commodity companies)

¨ And the risk of failure becomes real and ignorable: And for all companies, a crisis can increase the likelihood of failure (story break).

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A Roadmap to Story Telling & Valuation in a crisis

1. Separate the near term from the long term: During a crisis, the near-term effects are likely to be both large and unpredictable (negative for most companies, but positive for a few). Estimate the near term effects on earnings and cash flows, using all of the information you have and bringing in views on how the macro economy will evolve.

2. Revisit your story for the company: Evaluate how your story for the company has changed as a result of the crisis, and play out its effect on your long term value inputs (revenue growth, margins and reinvestment)

3. Bring in failure risk: For your story to play out, the company has to survive. Incorporate, as best as you can, the likelihood that your company will not make it through.

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A Post-Corona Version